ABSTRACT
As Wáng Yùbaŏ walked onto the stage, the motley audience of several thousand admirers applauded wildly. Dressed in a simple black dress but sporting bright red rouge and lipstick, Wáng carried herself with the dignity befitting a woman of sixty-seven years as she walked to center stage and graciously acknowledged her fans (Figure 7.1). The stage was otherwise bare, except for her five-piece ensemble off to stage left, consisting of a sānxián, a three-stringed plucked instrument; a sihu, a four-stringed fiddle held upright on the lap; a yángqín, a hammered dulcimer; a shēng, a mouth organ; and a Western cello (Figure 7.2). The accompanists quickly took their places, ready to begin the introduction as soon as she gave the appropriate nod.
